As the deadline to sign up for an insurance policy that takes effect in 2014 passes on December 23, the next crucial step in the debate about the future of the Affordable Care Act begins.
On January 1, Republicans will make the case that because of the estimated five million cancelation notices that went out last year, more people are uninsured under the president’s signature legislative accomplishment than newly insured.
The White House is preparing to rebut that argument aggressively. Last week, an administration official asserted that only about 10 percent of those who received those notices had not found a replacement plan, as most were offered another option by their current insurer. The remaining 500,000 or so have been offered a special exemption from the individual mandate.
Personally I think one of the biggest gifts we can get this Christmas is to watch the GOP scrambling for talking points once the Obamacare success stories are so numerous that they crush the Republican talking points under the weight of newly insured feet.
I think 2014 is shaping up to be a great year indeed for the progressives in this country.
You can still sign up until march without getting penalized. So whatever the numbers are now, it's not the final tally.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm sure the GOP talking points will win out, as they always fucking do. Because the media is too fucking scared to challenge the Republicans. Someone might actually think they're doing their jobs.
Even Jon Stewart will probably find a way to mock the president and use the GOP spin to do it.
I may be wrong, but it seems like most of the big news outlets are now owned by right wingers. Hence, the reporters are risking their jobs by doing anything else. It's probably a requirement of their jobs as well to be like the Fox news personalities (I use the term loosely).
DeleteI wish I could sign up for the federal plan.
ReplyDeleteIn Hawaii, we have a state run plan. Unfortunately, Medicaid has to turn us down first. Then, and only then, can we sign up for the state one. And Medicaid isn't responding. 30-45 working days, they say.
It's been 45 days, and no response. I can't even get in touch with them to find out the status, since their telephone number doesn't connect. It does for other last-name letters, but not mine. And even the others just ask for a message so they can call back, but they never do (yeah, I even tried that).
Call the state mybenefits number, and they ask for a message and say they'll call back in 3 days. I work, and can't be available all day every day to take a phone call. I have to time my own calls out around my patients.
Amazingly frustrated.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and all your fans.
ReplyDeleteRepeal Obamacare
ReplyDeleteImpeach Obama
Stand your ground
Molon Labe
Take back our country
Here's your nickel. Dolt.
DeleteExpand Obamacare
DeleteRespect President Obama
Stand up for President Obama
Take back our country
From the anarchists, racists and
Religious fanatics
Who worship guns and money
"Personally I think one of the biggest gifts we can get this Christmas is to watch the GOP scrambling for talking points"
ReplyDeleteSorry, Gryphen, this is just not true.
The GoPoopers NEVER "scramble" for talking points. A talking point is simply something they say to promote their agenda in opposition to the president. That's it.
It doesnt have to be consistent with anything they've said before. It doesnt have to be related to what the president has actually said or done. (BENGHAZI!!!!))) It doesnt have to be true. And it doesnt even have to make any sort of logical sense. It just has to be said and that alone makes it a conservative talking point. No scramble required.
It's the one immutable fact of their twisted genius: free from the weight of truth or reality, conservative "talking points" are whatever lies they choose to pull out of their collective asses on any given day. No matter what the president does, including supporting a health care reform agenda filled with Republican sweeteners for the insurance industry, the Tee Partee pundints slammed him for being a marxist, fascist, socialist muslin determined to destroy Amercia.
Sadly, I'm afraid, in fact, that 2014 is shaping up to be a very good year for the severe conservatives, damn their cold, dark souls.
Gryphen, I come here often to read but rarely comment. Today I want to let you know that I appreciate all you do and to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday and overall just good wishes. One day Sarah Palin will be ancient history and much of it will be because of your efforts.
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping us all informed about her actions (or not).
Hope you and yours have a great new year.
Sara Williamson
Nearly Three Out of Four Americans View the ‘Liberal, Marxist’ Pope Favorably
ReplyDeleteConservatives are freaking out over the man who used to be a Janitor (no doubt a member of the 47% of You People), Pope Francis, calling him names to try to beat him into submission.
Instead of joining conservatives in their hate Olympics, the Pontiff has focused on things Jesus championed, like taking care of the poor and the vulnerable and embracing the marginalized. Pope Francis doesn’t gobble up power and resources as his due, but instead demonstrates sharing. He is American conservatives’ worst nightmare: A religious figure who walks the talk instead of using power to con the gullible while sneering in contempt for the vulnerable, as is the modern conservative way.
A new poll CNN/ORC International poll released on Christmas Eve found that 88% of American Catholics approve of how Francis is handling his role. But even bigger — the Pope has found a way into the hearts of Americans of all beliefs and non-beliefs.
Nearly three in four view Pope Francis favorably.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/12/24/bad-news-conservatives-americans-view-pope-francis-favorably.html
Health Care Law Divides Republican Rivals
ReplyDeleteRepublicans see the 2014 midterm elections as a chance to capitalize on voter frustration with the problem-plagued health care overhaul, but the GOP first must settle a slate of Senate primaries where conservatives are arguing over the best way to oppose President Barack Obama's signature law.
In intraparty skirmishes from Georgia to Nebraska, the GOP's most strident candidates and activists are insisting on a no-holds-barred approach. They accuse fellow Republicans — including several incumbent senators — of being too soft in their opposition to the Affordable Care Act and to the president in general.
The outcomes will help determine just how conservative the Senate Republican caucus will be during Obama's final two years. And they could influence which party controls the chamber, with Democrats hoping that the most uncompromising Republican standard-bearers will emerge from the primaries and fare as poorly in general elections as their counterparts did in several 2012 Senate races. Republicans need to gain six seats for a majority.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/25/health-care-law-republicans_n_4501393.html
Religious Conservatives Thrown Into A Frenzied Panic After Court Won’t Impose Biblical Law
ReplyDelete....America is changing, and finally reverting to the nation’s founding document to bring religious imposition based on the bible to the end it deserves. It is remarkable that any, and every, time a federal court rules that laws based on the bible are unconstitutional and violate some Americans’ 14th Amendment rights, Republicans, particularly religious Republicans, make the same accusation that an activist judge is overriding the will of the people. What irks Mormons, evangelicals, and any religious group seeking to force their dogmata and beliefs on the people is that despite their machinations, the bible is not, and never will be, the Constitution and America’s justice system is not about to let it be.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/12/24/religious-conservatives-thrown-frenzied-panic-court-impose-biblical-law.html
Thanks for all you've done, are doing and will continue to do. This time of year, I like to reflect back and show appreciation to the people who enrich my life. Happy Holidays, IM'ers and Thanks Gryphen.
ReplyDelete